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Announcing OTOL Missouri-Texas RailFest (MTRF) 2017


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 05 April 2017 - 11:07 AM

Announcing OTOL Missouri-Texas RailFest (MTRF) 2017: July 15-22, 2017
 
Missouri Texas RailFest (MTRF) 2017 happens between Saturday, July 15th and Saturday, July 22nd.  This event starts with our departure from Chicago on the westbound Southwest Chief, and terminates after a Metra ride in the Chicago area on the following Saturday morning.  In between, there will be 3 long distance Amtrak rides (one on the Southwest Chief and two on the Texas Eagle) and one shorter one on the Missouri River Runner.  During our 8 day event we will visit three other cities, namely Kansas City, St. Louis, and Dallas. The latter two were part of the previous Eagle RailFest 2005; however in the past 12 years many new opportunities to ride transit lines have been added.
 
Here is a summary of each day's activities:
 
Saturday, 7/15/17

Leave Chicago westbound on Amtrak Train #3, Southwest Chief, arriving same evening in Kansas City.

Sunday, 7/16/17

Ride the RideKC Streetcar.  Take Amtrak Train #316, Missouri River Runner, eastbound Kansas City to St. Louis.

Monday, 7/17/17

Monday's activities in St. Louis include Metrolink light rail, and the new Delmar Loop Trolley.  Leave St. Louis southbound on Amtrak Train #21, Texas Eagle.

Tuesday, 7/18/17

Arrive in Dallas.  Some DART light rail riding.

Wednesday, 7/19/17

In Dallas, more DART light rail, as well as Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System. A-Train commuter rail round trip.
 
Thursday, 7/20/17

Complete DART light rail riding, and also M-Line and Dallas Streetcars.  Leave Dallas northbound on Amtrak Train #22, Texas Eagle.

Friday, 7/21/17

Arrive in Chicago.

Saturday, 7/22/17

Metra round trip to Harvard in the morning.
 
 
Hotels

⦁ Kansas City: 1 night, arriving 7/15/17, leaving 7/16/17.
⦁ St. Louis: 1 night, arriving 7/16/17, leaving 7/17/17.
⦁ Dallas: 2 nights, arriving 7/18/17, leaving 7/20/17.
⦁ Chicago: 1 night, arriving 7/21/17, leaving 7/22/17.
⦁ Plus any other hotels needed during your trip to & from Chicago or wherever else you join or leave the Fest.
 
 
 
Amtrak Trains

⦁ Train #3, Southwest Chief, departing Chicago and arriving Kansas City 7/15/17.
⦁ Train #316, Missouri River Runner, departing Kansas City and arriving St. Louis 7/16/17.
⦁ Train #21, Texas Eagle, departing St. Louis 7/17/17, arriving Dallas 7/18/17. 
⦁ Train #22, Texas Eagle, departing Dallas 7/20/17, arriving Chicago 7/21/17.
⦁ Plus any other trains needed to get between your home station and Chicago before and after the official Fest.
 
 
More information is available on the MTRF homepage.  It will index all information you should need for details and updates related to this event.  All changes to it will be mentioned on the OTOL board between this annoucement and the days leading up to the event. As always there are links to tourist information, lists of hotel rooms & restaurants near transit in the cities we will visit, lists of rail transit and commuter rail lines, and railroad scanner information. 
 
Always expect updates to the itinerary.   Itinerary start & end locations may be adjusted once it is known where people will be staying and having dinner.
 
Transit cost estimates for our activities in the cities being visited are being worked on; some are complete and others will be coming shortly. They can be accessed from the homepage. You may wish to obtain fare media by mail well in advance of your trip if you don't already have it.
 
As can be expected, train charts and the confidential contact listing will be provided closer to the event. At this time while you will start making your plans, please do not send this to me until requested.
 
If you do plan to attend, please e-mail me your intentions, as well as which (if not all) days you can participate.  It is always understood that some may not be able to partake of the events from start to finish.
 
Updates will be found under the appropriate threads on the OTOL forums. Those receiving this one-time message via e-mail will need to visit the forums to keep up with the latest updates.
 
Looking forward to another educational and exciting summer rail event!

Edited by KevinKorell, 08 May 2017 - 10:49 AM.
Strike Delmar Loop Trolley


Kevin Korell


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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 05 April 2017 - 11:26 AM

Let's get into the why's and when's.

 

First, I think this period of time should satisfy those who wish for the event to run weekend to weekend.  The days we stop in particular cities are dependent on the availability of the rail transit and/or commuter rail lines we are there to ride. This time things worked out to that end.

 

Why Chicago?  We have not had a Fest totally dedicated to Chicago since 2003, although we did spend considerable time there for Chief RailFest 2012 when we paired it with Albuquerque. Instead, because of the need to pass through Chicago for most locations throughout the country, we can spend an extra day in the city and do Metra lines as they fit in.  The only Metra line this group has not done in total is the UP-NW line to Harvard (and its branch to McHenry which remains impossible for a large group to ride out and back unless done VERY early on a weekday morning). A morning round trip to Harvard does not work well on a weekday or Sunday schedule; however there is a convenient round trip available on Saturdays. So because this worked out for being in Chicago on a Saturday morning, it was added into this event.  In addition, the Weekend Pass (now $8) is applicable to this trip; it will save people money even if this is the only Metra round trip made while in town.

 

Why not Little Rock?  On and off in the advance planning for what has developed into MTRF, I have included a 24-hour stopover in Little Rock.  This involves an arrival and departure in the 11 PM hour, assuming the northbound Texas Eagle is running on time.  Members of our group who have visited Little Rock report that while the bulk of downtown hotels are about a mile away from the Amtrak station, some do have complimentary shuttles.  That bodes well for a visit there.  However, adding a day would make the above Metra trip impossible as with the stopover we would now be arriving in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.  Plus, we already will be visiting three other cities besides Chicago.  My goal is to do this Little Rock activity, but on a future Fest that will also include Austin and Oklahoma City (the latter to have its own downtown streetcar). Therefore, Little Rock can be a part of that journey, possibly as soon as 2019.

 

Why not a side trip to Oklahoma City?  While I would love to include the Heartland Flyer and an OKC visit as part of this trip, we should wait until the streetcar in OKC is in service to give us a reason to travel there.  We would need to spend 2 nights in that city.  And same for Austin.  That situation is driven by the Amtrak schedule.



Kevin Korell


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#3 saxman

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Posted 06 April 2017 - 12:09 PM

Well I just booked some of the Amtrak segments. I'm unsure if I'll do KCY or STL, but I'll definitely do Dallas as I can show you my home turf.



#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 06 April 2017 - 02:43 PM

 

If you do plan to attend, please e-mail me your intentions



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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 15 April 2017 - 10:53 PM

We may have our first snag, as I am reading that the Delmar Loop Trolley (in St. Louis) startup date has slipped to "Late Summer". I would take this to mean August or September.  If that is the case, then I will simply rewrite the itinerary to omit the trolley for this event and do it on another visit. Shame, but things this winter had looked good for a Spring revenue service start.  Vehicle testing did begin in March, but the trolleys have to log many miles in mock service before they can be certified to carry passengers.  I'll be watching the news closely.



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#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 07 May 2017 - 12:17 PM

I have an e-mail request out to Delmar Loop Trolley asking them to shed more light on what might be a realistic opening date.  For now, I removed the language on the homepage referring to riding this trolley, and if word comes back that it in fact won't be open by our intended July 17th visit, then I will re-work the itinerary as well to omit it. We could either start later in the day on Metrolink light rail, or just have more time for the meal stops.  St. Louis is not hard to get to from Chicago, so we could go back another year to try out the higher speed rail service and do the trolley while there.



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#7 KevinKorell

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 10:39 AM

 

Thanks for your email, Kevin. We will still be in testing-phase in July,
with expected passenger service start date in end of summer. As we get
deeper into testing, and receive our third and final refurbished trolley,
that opening date should become clearer.

That confirms it.  Within the next week I will make changes to the St. Louis portion of the Fest and take out the Delmar Loop Trolley.



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#8 steve4031

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 10:18 PM

Thank you for your diligence.

#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 21 May 2017 - 08:56 PM

Itinerary was updated for the St. Louis day, to remove Delmar Loop Trolley and change potential lunch stop.  Also a later morning start time since we will be getting into St. Louis late the night before.



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#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 07:47 PM

Itinerary slightly altered with earlier start time on Sunday 7/16 in Kansas City.



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